Abstract

BELTRAN VILLANUEVA, Carlos Enrique; DIAZ CASTILLO, Fredyc  and  GOMEZ ESTRADA, Harold. Preliminary phytochemical screening of promising plant species of the Colombian Atlantic coast. Rev Cubana Plant Med [online]. 2013, vol.18, n.4, pp. 619-631. ISSN 1028-4796.

Introduction: Colombia is the second country with the highest biodiversity in the world, about 10 % of the world's plant resources are represented by 50,000 species of plants, and the north Colombian´s coast has about 3,400 of these species. This region is characterized by maintaining a rich tradition of use of this natural resource to treat several primary health problems. Objective: to conduct a phytochemical study of 45 ethanol extracts of 39 plants, which are used in traditional medicine in the Colombian Atlantic coast, with the aim of contributing to science-based knowledge of secondary metabolites present in these plants. Methods: different organs from each species were collected, fresh drug was subjected to successive extractions with 98 % ethanol and were identified in the extracts different groups of secondary metabolites present in each plants. Results: in the different ethanol extracts was detected high diversity of secondary metabolites; flavonoids, anthracene derivatives, triterpenes, cardiotonic compounds and alkaloids were predominantly present in each extracts. This studies were reported for first time the phytochemical study for species such as Sarcostemma clausum (Jacq) Schult., Diospyros inconstans Jacq., Sterculia apetala (Jacq.) Karst., Ceratopteris pteridoides Hooker., Cecropia peltata L., Cordia dentata Poir. and Gustavia superba (Kunth) O. Berg. Conclusions: there was evidence the presence of flavonoids as phytoconstituents most abundant in the species selected. The results provide support for further chemical and pharmacological studies of these species.

Keywords : medicinal plants; phytochemical screening; secondary metabolites; biodiversity.

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